The
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh will offer twenty positions to students this
fall at a newly established Yahoo! CareCenter, which could mean nearly $10,000
per year for each student in compensation to help pay for books, fees, and
tuition expenses.

According
to Steve Romme, interim director for the center for community partnerships,
students working at the center will have flexible hours, but will also be
expected to work at least 15 hours per week. Work tasks will mainly include
answering information technology questions for Yahoo! Employees. However,
students will not be required to have a computer-related background. 

“We
are looking for a broad variety of students. They need to be somewhat
proficient with technology like Microsoft and Office products,” Romme said.
“But, the most important thing is they need to solve problems for people.
Yahoo! is willing to train students on the technical aspects.”

Adam
Kostrzak, UW-Oshkosh alumnus and senior manager of Yahoo!’s global service
desk, the idea for the center stemmed from a combination of factors, including
an already successful internship program in Sunnyvale, California and
experience with an FBI support program at Louisiana State University. 

“Those
two things gave me the idea to look for a university to partner with in a
region with a lower cost of living and strong academic standards,” Kostrzak
said in an email. “We eventually focused our search on the Midwest.  After talking with numerous universities,
Oshkosh and the Center for Community Partnerships stood out because of the
uniqueness of the program they offer.”

According
to Guri Sohi, professor and former chair of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
computer science department, many companies establish similar centers on
campuses throughout the nation to act as ambassadors between the company and
the university. While the university has many active relationships with Yahoo!,
they have nothing like the center at UW-Oshkosh.

Kostrzak
said many other universities were contacted in the decision-making process, but
UW was not because so many other options were already available. Additionally,
the strong relationship between CCP and UW-Oshkosh allowed for a smooth
contract process to provide space for operations as well as recruiting efforts
to find the most desirable students.

“No
other school could provide Yahoo! with space as needed and contractually agree
to provide us with enough student candidates to fill our needs,” Kostrzak said.
“We saw this partnership between the CCP and Oshkosh as one of the deciding
factors to pursue this opportunity with them.”

According
to Romme, UW-Oshkosh was able to bridge gaps between the public limitations of
a state university and the private needs of a business enterprise that other
universities were unable to accomplish.

Kostrzak
added there are currently no future plans to establish additional centers at
other universities — including UW.  

The
benefits of the center will aid students in establishing a professional
business background before entering the “real world,” Kostrzak said.

“The
students are getting an opportunity to work for a large hi-tech corporation
before graduation,” Kostrzak said. “They will have a unique perspective of the
working world that will hopefully challenge and inspire them.”